formerly cdixon.posterous.com

Twitter: power users and lean-back users

"1) Power Users. This group uses it as a business tool of some sort (customer acquisition/competitive intelligence/etc) and/or as an interaction platform. These users overwhelmingly use 3rd party clients because those clients are the only way you can process Twitter efficiently. Twitter.com for this group is a complete non-starter.

2) Lean-Back Users: This group tends to follow high-profile celebrities, personal interests, and/or industry leaders. They consume and surf Twitter very similarly to what they do with Television or the Web in general. This is the group for which the development of a "channel" solution would be very smart: http://www.uniquevisitor.net/if-twitter-were-tv-in-search-of-a-better-twit

IMO the smartest thing Twitter could do is to recognize these two basic user groups and figure out how to best monetize each. Ironically, what they'll realize is that the "consistent experience" they claim to be protecting is actually the thing that will handcuff product development and ultimately constrain it's ability to monetize. "